You don't need a breadmaker...

...you just need a can of beer. Hello beer bread! In the words of Jill Dupleix, "It's fast, and easy, requires no kneading, no proving, no knocking back, and no machine". And it only has four ingredients! Most of which you will find in the kitchen anyway, unless you are a beer eater like me, so you rarely have beer at home.

And by being a beer eater I mean I prefer to eat my beer rather than drink it e.g. beer battered food, beer in pies, stews, cake etc.

KESC 17

We are skipping the block of little lunch places, the excuse being we don't think 8 people will fit in them, and that's our average group now. But really after all the delicious dumplings and shan dongs we don't want to eat battery fried food anymore. If there are complaints we can go to charcoal chicken one night, and 88 Chinese another. I've already eaten at both.

So the next challenge will be at Sinma Laksa House, the yellow one at the roundabout. Woo! the turning point! On Friday 8th October.

Win win

I'm catching up with some TAFE friends tonight. There's a running joke about me and steaks, so the plan was to go to Pinnochio's Restaurant. There is a time and place for restaurants and I do enjoy eating out, but once I looked at their menu I realised:

- a healthy option was going to cost me quite a bit

- I've already eaten out four times this week

- I'm meant to be a povo full-time student

- my flatmate is out and

- I probably could whip up a simple meal for five for the less (or the same) cost as would my meal would have been in the restaurant.

First I checked what was in my pantry and fridge (rice, usual spices and condiments, carrots) and realised I could easy do paprika chicken with rice and steamed vegies.

Then I went to the shops and decided on chicken drumsticks because they were on special and picked vegies based on what was on special and colour.

Finally get your friends to take care of drinks, dessert and nibblies and you're set.

And the other great thing about having people over? It forces you to clean the house. Win all round.

Hand-me-down vs new.

I need a washing machine.

I've previously had a string of either free, cheap or flatmate-owned machines. It's been good. But I think my luck has run out.

WMs are hard to scrounge when you need one; people tend to keep them till they die, whereas they update couches which are OK and TVs which still work (so if anyone has a spare TV I'd like one of those too) but I think my chances of finding a bargain/free washer quickly are slim.

So I have to spend proper money on a worldly possession which will decrease in value and break down and be inconvenient to move house with. I am so hardened by Sydney flatting that I see every possession as a burden. But, I'm rather looking forward to a new machine which washes really well. Clean is good.

Wrapping.

If you are not a member of my family, I will wrap your present in wrapping paper.

Gift wrap takes up a lot of space, though. Long rolls are better value, but annoying to store, and I also have a few pieces of paper lying around I am reusing from other gifts. It is just not efficient. So I have decided to phase out all my current supplies of paper, and replace it with one roll of brown paper, and some different ribbons. Brown paper is extremely versatile and stylish, it works for women, men and Christmas presents, but I suppose it might not work for wedding presents and little girls who only like pink. Whatever. Anyway, a big bow will fancy it up.

The beauty of the plan is in the simplicity of storage and the elimination of choice. The initial outlay should be fairly economic, in a bulk roll of paper and some bulk rolls of ribbon.

KESC 16 review: Chong Hing

The soup came with a chicken foot.

We must be half way by now! Last night 9 people met at Chong Hing, it was a bit of a different mix of people and there were 4 first-timers.

We ordered a banquet for 8, and they forgot to make one dish, but we didn't need that dish anyway since we were full, so it worked out well to take it off the bill. It came to $8 each, with some leftover takeaway. 

Beans in XO, Salt and Pepper wings

They house specialty is the deep fried salt and pepper chicken wings, which are indeed delicious. We ordered 2 plates full. They are piping hot and very salty, mmmmmm. The next best dish was probably the beans in XO, nice and tasty. We also had a satay beef, which was nice, some veg dishes, and a shan dong chicken.

The story with the shan dong is strange. I ordered it here once before, at Elsie's farewell, and what I got was so strange and yucky that I thought they must have given me the wrong order. I took a chance and ordered it again, and it was a bit nicer, but it was NOT the sort of shan dong I like. It has this think sauce like a gravy or satay or something, and it is on a pile of spinach, and it isn't crispy and garlicky. It's an OK dish I guess, but not a delicious shan dong.

The not proper Shan Dong Chicken, and a hotpot.

So the food was good overall, but not as good as we've enjoyed at some of the other places next door. A lot of it was very salty. If you try there, the chicken wings are a goer.

I think the reason they forgot the meal was just that they didn't have many staff on, it was a quiet Monday night after all, and they didn't expect a big group. The food wasn't exactly slow, but we're used to it coming in a rush within 10 minutes of ordering, and it came out bit by bit. Decor is random, staff quick, food cheap and big. 3/5

Pick a fruit poll now open.

We'll see which is the best.

Are strawberries overrated?

The office reached a fairly large consensus: strawberries aren't that great. A good strawberry is good, but generally, for the money you usually pay, strawberries aren't as yummy as other fruit. They're nicest when used as a garnish, really. I mean, as much as there are things I love which involve strawberries, is the strawberry my favourite fruit? is it anyone's favourite fruit? Do people enjoy eating strawberries as much they enjoy mangoes, or grapes, or pineapple, or blueberries?

I think we just love the strawberry brand. It is pretty, red, heart shaped, romantic, and it feels special to eat. It's a treat. It goes with cream, and gets dipped in chocolate, put on pavlova and mudcake and dropped in champagne. It's branded as a premium fruit.

Like lobster. Lobster is way overrated, in my ignorant opinion. I would happily eat a normal crab and save my money. Whereas, expensive cheese never disappoints.

No TV.

I'm out a lot, I don't have many TV shows I care about, and the few I really like aren't on right now, so I just don't watch TV anymore. Technically, I watch shows on DVD a fair bit, but I think that's quite different. It's selective, not just plonking down and brainlessly watching whatever is on for 3 hours. Last night I put the TV on for 10 minutes, and remembered why I don't watch it to fill in time anymore: ads, and Two and a half men. Life is too short.

My only regret is missing Alan Kohler and his lovely graphs on the ABC news finance report.

Jelssie vocab: Snot rag.

Mouchoir    (mŌ`shwär´)

n. 1. A handkerchief.



Found at  22 words.

Get to know your fruit & veg shop

My local fruit & veg shop sells excellent quality produce. In the past, I used to head straight for the items on my shopping list, but now I've realised the value in knowing the layout of the store well. You see, if you head straight for the red capsicum display, they usually sell for about $8-$10 per kilo. If you go round to the back corner, you can sometimes buy a 1 kg bag of red capsicums for $2-$3.50. That's a substantial saving! Some of the red caps are tinged with green, but they are otherwise fine.

I've also found pockets of the store where they sell marked-down produce. Sometimes it's because they're irregularly shaped, or slightly broken off (e.g. huge field mushroom with a bit broken off), but they're otherwise still good. Sometimes they're slightly bruised or on the verge of going off, so I tend to steer clear of those.

I've noticed they also don't put all the weekly specials out the front of the store, but in various parts.

So if you want to get the most bang out of your fruit & veg buck, other than growing your own vegies, get to know your store's layout well.

Tree falling in a forest

If you have a fringe that covers your eyebrows, do you still need to keep your eyebrows groomed?

A little lie down.

I came home from work last night very tired so like a zombie I went straight to bed for a little rest. It's not my habit, but whenever I do I remember that my Dad does it quite often, and I think he's onto something. Comes home from work and before anything else, cooking dinner or anything, has "a little lie down". I didn't fall asleep, I had radio on low, but I did feel a lot better. It was just 30 minutes of quiet and still in between work and supermarket and commuting, and the evening stuff.

It's just listening to your body. If you're tired, headachy, spaced out, drained, that means you need to stop and have a rest. So have a little lie down occasionally. 

Sex sells

Society is in a sad state when women routinely resort to using overt sexuality to sell products (I'm looking at you female pop stars). I'm sure it's not just women who decide to do things this way, but also the men behind them.

It's sad because it makes me ask, "Is that all you have to offer?". How many years of womens' liberation have we had, and yet we still resort to scantily clad women writhing and gyrating in music videos. It frustrates me on so many levels, but have we become so lazy and so uncreative that we just go, "Hey we need attention and we need to sell quickly. Go get a scantily clad woman"?

That's why I find Katie Noonan so refreshing. She has an ethereal voice and bucket loads of talent. She doesn't have to resort to overt sexuality to sell her music - she has herself to offer. Her voice and her creativity speak for themselves. Yet she is still very feminine in the way she presents herself. She may not ooze sexuality the way female pop stars do, but I think there is a very subtle, modest and demure undercurrent of it.

Bad chips.

Kettle chips are on special at Coles now, and I haven't bought chips in ages and after a busy weekend I wanted to relax with some Doctor Who on DVD with my favourite flavour potato chip, sweet chilli. I like the flavour of the Thins, which are cheaper, but they are so light they melt in the mouth and I like the thicker, crunchier bite of the kettle chips. Red rock deli is nice, but I feel has too many folded and deformed chips and are not as sweet as thins. I like my chilli sweet. My ultimate guide, though, is the special price.

So I picked up a bag of chips on special and opened them and started eating and YUCK! so wrong! Like plain chips (which I despise, they are just salty oil to me) but hot! Plain and hot! I didn't know that there was a flavour called chilli which isn't sweet. pah.

So because I refuse to throw them out, and waste $3.50, and I refuse to eat chips I don't enjoy, here are my possible uses.

1. Buy some proper sweet chilli chips and eat both of them in pairs: 1 of each at a time, to disguise the taste of the chilli ones.
2. Put them in sandwiches with salad. Chip sandwiches. Add some crunch and spice.
3. See how they taste with the pasta veggie chicken pesto thing I cooked on the weekend. The contrasting texture and flavour.

You only learn by bitter experience.

Dangerous attitude

I caught a bit of morning television the other day. The commentators claimed that a well-known neurosurgeon said that a woman's place was in the home (or in the kitchen) or something like that. He (the commentator) decided the neurosurgeon didn't know what he was talking about and should stick to neurosurgery.

The commentator displayed a dangerous attitude towards people with differing opinions. Regardless of where you think a woman's place should be, how does saying, "Your opinion is different to mine, therefore you're wrong and you should shut up" help society? What about engaging with one another? Discussing? Debating? And who made you the arbiter of where a woman's place should be? Why is your opinion more valid than the other person's?

I feel that tv shows stir for the sake of stirring. They often make mountains out of molehills for the sake of content and ratings. Uncreative.

Souped up

I'm really chuffed with the state of my freezer. It is full of the following soups:



Here's why I like soups:

Economical
Soups are extremely economical if you make them from vegies that are in season or on special.

Healthy
I make my soups out of non-starchy vegies and I omit cream. That's not to say that starchy vegies or cream will kill you, but when you want to have a lower kJ snack in between meals, this kind of soup is great AND you're on your way to getting in your daily five serves of vegies.

Freezable
There are certain kinds of soups that don't fare so well after you freeze them (i.e. those containing dairy, potato, eggplant or mushroom because they break down on thawing, according to recipes+ magazine). But for those that do freeze well, they are great to have in the freezer. You can always add your dollop of cream to your soup (if desired) just before you serve it.

Versatile
You just want a lower kJ snack in between meals? Have the soup as is. You want a more substantial meal? Add some carbs, protein and fat to make it a meal e.g. avocado on toast plus 1/4 BBQ chicken or add cooked pasta/potato and shredded, cooked chicken to the soup.

Easy
General principles in making soups:
1. Cook the vegies (either by roasting in the oven or simmering in stock/water)
2. Blitz the vegies (with water or stock) to desired consistency

Hospitable
If you have a few soups and dinner rolls in the freezer, they make a great meal on hand if unexpected guests drop by. Reheat the soup, pop the dinner rolls in the oven and you've got yourself a meal. If you've made your soup purely with vegetable-based ingredients, you can even serve it to vegan friends and most people aren't allergic to vegetables, so it's great for people with various intolerances.

Braces friendly
'nuff said!

I'll let you know when I have the recipes up.

I love short hair

I am going to sing the praises of short hair.

When it comes to hair, I go through phases. I like my hair really really long or really really short. I dislike it in-between. It usually drives me nuts.

My hair is quite short now. This is what I like about it:

- So much easier to wash. No more long strands getting tangled in my hands while shampooing, no more longs strands to pick up after your shower.

- So much quicker to wash.

- So much less product (shampoo/conditioner) to use.

- So much easier to dry. I grab a towel and give my hair a good shake and I'm done.

- So much easier to comb/brush. I can use a lot less pressure to comb/brush my hair because there's a lot less of it to brush

- No need to tie it up.

- It doesn't get in the way of my food/drink (I confess, this was a pretty big reason for me cutting it :P)

- It's all healthy because yucky split ends have been cut off.

I LOVE SHORT HAIR!

Although to be absolutely fair, since there is now no hair covering the nape of my neck, I feel the cool breeze a lot more. I guess if you're a man, you're probably used to it. That's probably the only thing I dislike (if you could call it that) about short hair.

NEXT KESC

We're struggling to find any free Fridays these days. So cos we're desperate to eat the street after months of no Eat Street, we're throwing the next KESC on Monday 27th September, 6.30pm. The restaurant is called either Chong Hing or Ching Hong, I can't remember no matter how many times I check as I walk past. Either way, it is next door to the TAB.

And there was much rejoicing.

Silicone bakeware

I am going to sing the praises of silicone bakeware.

I eat a lot of vegies. At the moment, my favourite thing is to grill them under the grill function in the oven. Nearly every day. I was lining my baking tray with baking paper (to make washing up easier) to grill my vegies. I started going through lots of baking paper and thought, "This is ridiculous."

Well, a roll of baking paper costs about $4 and you can get a silicone mat for $5. You do the math.

I will eventually switch over to silicone bakeware instead of lining my tins with baking paper. It is so worth the money you spend on silicone bakeware because you will save heaps in baking paper, especially if you do a lot of baking.

But now I have a new roll of baking paper, so what do I do with it if I make the switch?

Who needs men?

My life has been dominated by women. I grew up in a mostly female household, in a very matriarchal family structure. I went to an all-girls high school. I was in a single-sex Bible study at church for years. I started out in a female-dominated degree. I've continued to live with women only since moving out of home. I'm part of what Jess affectionately calls the single women ghetto. My closest friends are female.

Someone asked me earlier tonight why I dropped out of my first degree. At the time, I forgot that this was one of the reasons, but it was partly because I was driven nuts by being surrounded by women all the time. It felt imbalanced. I transfered into another degree which was still dominated by women, but significantly less so. [You'll be relieved to know the major reason I transferred was I disliked the degree!]

It's made me realise, I need men in my life to balance out all the women in my life. Don't get me wrong. I love and value my female friends and the women in my life. But there is something that is just different about men that I can't quite put my finger on. Perhaps most of the men I know just tend to be pleasant to be around.

So my great whiz bang thesis is that women need men because they're different to women. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but I think men bring a degree of sanity to my otherwise female-dominated life.

Perhaps that's just how God has made it...

Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart? I doooo....

Strawberry storage.

Strawberries are cheap at the moment. I bought a punnet for $1! And there were further reports of 4 for a dollar.

A co-worker conducted a strawberry storage experiment, to see how to keep them best—in the fridge, or out of the fridge covered in a tea towel.

Results:

1. Strawberries on plate covered in towel: significant mould growth and squishiness.
2. Strawberries in fridge: no visible mould growth and moderate squishiness.

No exciting new storage methods discovered. :(

Thanks, Rachel. I shall continue to refrigerate my strawberries.

Really disappointing banana.

The best bit of the banana is the first bite off the top, the unbroken natural pointy part. All the rest of the bites are less good, because you are just rebiting your way down the middle. The bottom of the banana is the least good, because you're tired of the banana and sometimes it gets a bit dark near the base. By the way, I don't eat the nib at the base, I leave that in the skin so that the banana has an inny not an outy at the bottom. I don't know why, it's just how I am.

Anyway, all of this is to say that nothing is as disappointing in my banana eating routine as a banana which is bruised at the top. My first bite, ruined.

Girls of Slender Means Tool Kit.

I have a small black bag of tools. These are the things I use to patch up my stuff.

• Wire
• Wire cutters
• Adjustable wrench.
• Blue-tak
• Glue.
• Stanley or craft knife.
• A set of tiny screwdrivers.

Wire and wire cutters are more useful than you think. I use pieces of wire to hang curtains off, make hooks and washing lines, and other random makeshift things.

Blue-tak and glue are the easiest fixers in most cases. I've repaired my bathroom cabinet with glue.


The adjustable wrench is for taking apart the bed when I move house.

Tiny screwdriver sets are handy when you want to take apart your TV remote, or something. I don't have a big screwdriver set, but the little ones are good.

A hammer is optional, because I have no opportunities to hammer nails into my rental property walls, and sometimes you can hammer things with other heavy items. I recently needed one for craft though, so I might buy one.

Cooking oil is just as good as other oil, for squeaky doors etc.

Mould war.

2 Samuel 11:1… In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, flat-dwellers of the East arm for the fight against mould.

Or as Anna paraphrased Winston Churchill… we shall fight it on the ceilings, we shall fight it in the bathrooms...

Good tips here. Those Northern Territorians mean business. USE GLOVES AND A MASK.

If I were a man for a day...

...I would spend my day lifting heavier things, just because I could. I might even go to gym and lift weights. How great would it be that things that seem heavy to you as a woman, are suddenly lighter.

I would also enjoying eating more treat food (assuming I'd have a bigger body and need more kilojoules). I would have duck WITH skin, a larger helping of pork crackling, crispy skin chicken with rice, sushi with a larger dollop of Kewpie mayonnaise or a few more Hong Kong style buns...you get the picture :)

Christian community

One of the things I find most encouraging about being part of the Christian community is how willing people are to help when you need it, even if it's helping a stranger.

I have been really encouraged this week by brothers (and a sister) who were quick to help a friend of mine move, even though most of them had never met her before. Now she was of slender means, so needed all the manpower she could muster to help with the move.

I was encouraged that these helpers were willing to give up part of their Saturday to do this (Saturdays were so precious to me as a worker), be so good-natured and kind about it and not expect anything in return.

And the especially great thing about having brothers to help? They are physically stronger and more able to lift heavy items than us womenfolk. I can still lift stuff, but it's just so much easier for men.

I'm so thankful to God for his provision of willing and able helpers!

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (ESV)

John 13:35

Dead Wives Society.

Count the detectives and heros who have a dead wife. A dead wife (and optional dead daughter) gives good men who fight evil the ultimate tragic past, makes them loyal and unavailable yet conflicted and available, deeply and interestingly damaged, and probably also provides a revenge storyline.

Posture tips.

I'm a terrible sloucher. I've got some good tips recently though.

Carry shopping bags with bent arms. When you are lazy and let your arms dangle and shoulders droop, your back gets used wrong. It does make a difference to posture, I've tried it. But it looks a bit dorky.

The other trick I learned, from my bible group leader, is to stand with your heels sort of tucked together, one a bit in front of the other and toes pointing apart (in 3rd position in ballet lingo), because that forces good posture as well. When you square your feet apart you're probably going to slouch. I'm practicing at traffic lights.

How not to change a lightbulb.

This is quite dodgy, I'm not sure if I should be blogging it. I am the lady* who stuck my finger in a light socket last year and got zapped. I give you this disclaimer: don't copy me.

So, I got back from the weekend and the lightbulb had busted. The next night I decided to change it, jiggled it to see if it was bayonet or screw in, and guessed screw. Wrong. I twisted the bulb socket right off the old fragile wires.

Groan. Now I have to contact the real estate agent, and waste work hours waiting at home for an electrician. And be in the dark when I want to sew.

Unless…

Two wires and two holes. Can't be that hard.

I can't believe I did it. I'm quite proud, but I'm afraid to turn the light on yet. Actually, I noticed I left off the guard bit, so I have to undo it and re do it.

I sent photos to a tech team friend to check I did it right. He said turning off the power to the lights at the mains is a good idea (ahhhh), and "make sure no daggy wires hang out", and definitely put the guard back on. Any other tips before I put a bulb in and flick the switch? **

* Making an effort not to call myself a 'girl' as per Elsie's post.

** Other than I promise not to do it again.

Ice-cream theory.

Some ice-creams are wonderful by themselves, because they are so gourmet and interesting. And the best ice-cream to go with a dessert or something is plain vanilla. But then you have leftover boring ice-cream. My tip is, buy a vanilla based ice-cream but not vanilla, such as cookies and cream, or some kind of raspberry swirl or something. So mostly vanilla, so it will go with a piece of chocolate cake, but interesting enough to eat on its own.

Listening with vowels.

Here is a tip to become a sympathetic listener. I learnt this from the James Valentine radio show. When someone is ranting or pouring out their heart in deep angst, utter only vowels. "Ahhh" "Ehhhh" "Ooooh" "Ohhhh" "Uhhhh".

Attraction

Attraction is a funny thing isn't it? I suppose it's what brings people together.

Some people believe in instant attraction and love at first sight. Every now and then I meet someone whom I'm instantly attracted to. But usually I find that when I get to know him better, there's usually not much there to sustain the attraction.

Then there are men whom you're not instantly attracted to, but over time, you get to know his character, his theology, his sense of humour, his personality and one day you find yourself realising what a GREAT catch he is (and if he has fantastic social skills, he's a doubly great catch). Now that's attraction.

So to the single men out there who don't feel they've got it in the instant attraction department, don't worry, it's not the only way to win a woman over. And don't underestimate the power of a disarming smile :)

The cost of fruit & veg

I've turned into one of those people who gets really excited by the price of fruit and veg. I know which friends I can have conversations about current prices. I think I must have picked it up from my mum and grandma because they always talk about the price of groceries. I also follow Providore1 on twitter to find out what's happening with fruit and veg prices.

So this week's price excitements are:

- English spinach $3 for 3 bunches

- Beetroot 99c bunch

- Navel oranges 99c/kg

- Packham pears 99c/kg

- Bananas $1.48/kg (reasonable)

- Broccoli 99c/kg

- Small Kensington pride mangoes 5 for $5

- Enoki mushrooms 3 x 300g for $6

Last week carrots were 79c per kilo bag!

I suppose this is what happens when you don't have a car and the price of petrol is irrelevant: you watch the price of fruit and veg instead.

Something really really amazing!

Rachel found a conjoined almond today.

If you want to see it in real life, you have just one day. She will be eating it tomorrow.

Sorry to interrupt…

A pause in regular jelssie content to broadcast some unrelated stuff.

• I'm doing a lot of sewing and things which I want to put on the internet but not clutter up jelssie, so if you are interested in girly crafty flowery stuff, whatever I'm obsessed with at the moment, I've just started jessisthinking so that I can dump. It is probably of limited interest to most of you, but I like it.
• I have been waiting months to see Beauty and the Beast this September at Rockdale. Local musical theater is wonderful fun. Who wants to come along? $35, tix on sale now. Runs for about 2 weeks in mid-Sep.
• Also, the B&B Disney movie is being shown in 3D at Hoyts, does anyone want to come with and see it at the Ent Q? I'd maybe like to go this Friday. It was about the 2nd or 3rd movie I ever saw at the movies, after Milo and Otis and Homeward Bound. Nostalgia. I heart Gaston.
  

That's all for now.

Greed: a misdiagnosis?

It's easy to look at our society and blame some of its problems (e.g. materialism, gluttony) on greed. Some of it is definitely motivated by the desire to accumulate more, but I suspect that's not the entire problem.

In some cases, I don't believe the root cause is greed. I believe the root cause is emotional discomfort and/or emptiness. I think as a society we don't know how to process our emotions. So when we have a feeling we dislike or when we feel empty, we look towards the experience of shopping or eating to make us feel better. It distracts us from the unpleasantness we are currently experiencing. We don't really want to buy more things or eat more food. What we want is to find relief from that yucky feeling.

This probably could explain some of society's addiction problems: gambling, smoking and binge drinking alcohol to name a few.

I do have more thoughts on this, but I will leave it hanging there for the time being.

Some articles to consider:

• End emotional eating articles (extremely insightful, highly recommended)

• Eight signs of emotional eating (extremely insightful, highly recommened)

• Retail therapy: beware cure hiding a disease (SMH article. Interesting point: compulsive shopping mirrors the spread of obesity)

• Diary of a shopaholic (SMH article)

• CBD a shopper's nightmare (SMH article)

Girls and boys

Have you noticed how we don't really address ourselves as men and women, but as boys/guys and girls? Today, our lecturer spoke to some students up the back and referred to them as "girls". When a guy joined us for our last KESC, we called him a boy, not a man.

Why is this? Do we not view ourselves as adults? As men and women? (If not, why not?) Has it got something to do with emerging adulthood?

Maybe we don't feel like adults even though we do adult things e.g. be financially independent from our parents, move out of home, pay bills, hold down a job, make life decisions etc etc

I do like to address friends as "ladies and gentlemen", but that's because jelssie hearts chivalry and I like retro/vintage.

I feel there is an element of self-fulfilling prophecy about how we address ourselves. If we call ourselves boys and girls, then we don't feel like adults. If we start addressing ourselves as men and women, perhaps we start feeling like adults (whatever that means).

Note that the title of this blog post is the same as one of Blur's huge hits in the mid-90s :)

Baked beans.

I normally buy Heinz ham sauce flavour. But last night in a hurry in an unfamiliar supermarket I bought the first can I saw, and it happened to be SPC ham sauce. It tastes the same, but what I look for in a tin of baked beans is density of beans, because too much sauce soggies up my toasted sandwich. I compared my SPC tin with a coworker's tin of Heinz, and Heinz had 55% beans, but SPC only 50%. I am surprised that both tins are only half beans. That is worse than the percentage of tuna in tuna cans, which is also disappointing.

Underhated: Font hate.

Hating Comic Sans is just a way of fitting in among people who are cool about typography; most people don't genuinely hate Comic Sans, its more a sort of in-joke which is so widespread it's not 'in' anymore. If there was a way to wipe a font from the face of the earth, I would keep Comic Sans and I would DESTROY COPPERPLATE GOTHIC. Oh, how I loathe it. Like Michael Scott says: "I hate so much about the things that you choose to be"*. I can remember innocently using it in an assignment at Uni, and then driving around Newcastle and noticing it everywhere, on real estate signage, a funeral parlour, a butcher shop. And I realised it was common, and I realised it was ghastly, and I realised I did not like it. Over time, that dislike turned to a deep hatred, so that I can't help noticing it, staring at it, and being disgusted at the person who thought it was a good typography choice. And that is how to hate a font.

*Michael Scott quote on youtube here.

Myth about books and movies

Movies don't ruin books. If anything, books spoil movies. It's always the movie which comes off second best, disappointing in comparison to our reading experience. The book is resilient.

Master packing list

Every time I go away, I write out a list of things to pack. I don't know why I don't just create a master packing list and use it each time.

I thought just maybe perhaps I did have one hidden away in my computer somewhere. I plugged in "packing list" in my spotlight search, and an Excel file came up. I was impressed with myself! I didn't recall creating one, but perhaps I had! Turns out the file is an Excel template! Bonussssss! I only have to modify that list.

Anyway, I'm still going to write out a list this time. Perhaps I'll make a master packing list next time...

Underrated: hommus.

Hommus covers a multitude of raw vegetables.

I've discovered that raw broccoli tastes OK, and it's apparently one of the most nutritional veggies. And I find that I have to be quite diligent to eat 5 serves of veggies a day. Everything else almost eats itself, I have no difficulties eating fruit, meat and carbs, but I need to force the veggies down. Hommus means that I can snack on them. It's like peanut butter, but garlicy. Mmmm.

Guide to the Eastern Suburbs.

There are 3 types of Eastern Suburbs. Just in case you thing we're fancy for living there, let me enlighten you.

There's the posh or trendy north part with all the bays and terraces, then the middle near the uni which is middle class plus international students, then there is the south which is semi working class plus 'bra boys.

What I hate about Todd Sampson.

(the cool, good looking panelist on Gruen)

1. His name is Todd. Eugh.
   
2. He's naturally and carefully good-looking. Bone structure and disheveled hair.
3. He dresses so hip. Ooooh, Threadless. So much cred.
4. He appeals to the audience as one of them, but he works for ad agencies. Hypocrite.
5. He goggles his eyes to get people to listen to him and appear more earnest.
6. He talks over the other guy (Russel). Talking over people is rude, even if you sound earnest.
7. He gives consumers no credit for their own decisions. It's all 'big bad corporations'. I take responsibility for every bottle of water I buy, you don't have to demonise Coke and treat me like an ignorant victim of evil corporate marketing. I have a brain, you know.
   

And for all that Russel Howcroft comes across as a suited marketing shark, at least he is open about it. He is honest about being sneaky, which I like. And he stands up for the intelligence of consumers (even if so that he can get away with being more sneaky). And I discovered he is actually just as socially responsible as Todd Sampson, I think he set up an organisation to help not-for-profits with media and marketing (compared to, say, inventing Earth Hour). So I'm on team Russel.

KESC 15 review - Dumplings.

Kingsford Eat Street Challenge has almost completely stopped being about the food, and has turned into a lovely sort of open family dinner. There were 10 people last Friday, and we only just fitted around one of the big round tables which I love so much. There were 3 new challengers and one of them was a boy — but that didn't cramp our style much. It was probably an enlightening experience for him.

Back to the Chinese Dumpling and Noodle House. They have dumplings, hand made noodles, other noodles, and other food. Who cares, as long as they have dumplings! We ordered mostly dumplings — fried and steamed, and buns. One hand made noodle dish with beef, one token plate of green veg and mushroom, and a shan dong chicken. In my opinion the shan dong was way too sweet and sour, not enough garlic and was overpriced at $15. Everything got eaten very well. It's hard to do dumplings bad. The food comes fast, and there was tea (I'm really getting asian now; there must be tea!). The bill was $8.50 each, which is good value, we thought it would be more. The same food at yum cha would cost 2-3 times that.

Other things to note: Kylie Kwong plugged this place so it must be authentic and yummy. And, there was a noticable higher ratio of anglos to asians than at any other place we've eaten at. Maybe dumplings aren't as good value if you're a student who wants to fill up on rice and ramen, or maybe they aren't as authentic and yummy as the rest of the street food.

Good stuff on the internet:

2 things I've benefited from today on the wonderful world-wide web.

9marks record interviews with pastors on pastoral issues, and there is an interview with Mark Dever talking to Carolyn McCulley about pastoring singles. It might not be a new podcast, but it is new for me cos I stopped paying much attention to singleness/dating gurus because... I know the theory already. So knew nothing about McCulley. This covers some interesting stuff.

At the Best Book Co-op. Cathy and friends are thinking through what they call (in Maitland) Gospel Community, with a bit of a focus on depression and crisis at the moment.

Chair lift

While we're on the topic of chivalry, I just remembered another kind act from a fellow classmate yesterday.

We have these cool gas lift chairs in our little lecture theatre. My classmate and I were going to sit together except that the seat next to my classmate wasn't one of those cool gas lift chairs - it was an ordinary, stable, no-lift chair. I made a face, had a mini-whinge ("Oh, but it's not one of those cool gas lift chairs") and he went to the trouble of swapping the chairs for me :D

It's alive!

Woah. I got on the bus today. Nothing special about that. It was a bit crowded. I slowly made my way down to the back of the bus, planning on standing there so there'd be more room up front as more passengers got on. A guy gentleman sitting down saw me make my way down the bus. As I got close to him, he leapt up and offered his seat to me. It's alive people! Chivalry is ALIVE! I didn't even look at him or anything, or expect that kind of thing to happen. It just did.

Even though I'm capable of standing on my own two feet on a crowded bus, I graciously accepted. After all, how could he feel like a gentleman if I refused? :) I appreciated his act of chivalry. Acts of chivalry always make a woman feel like a lady and feel special :)

Underrated: toasted sandwiches.

Enough said.

Colouring in for grown ups

Having recently bought some colouring pencils, I've discovered that colouring in is very therapeutic. Kids are onto something I tell ya! Why don't they have colouring in books for grown ups? I'd like something with retro or vintage images. As much as I love Sanrio, it just doesn't seem right for someone my age to be colouring in pictures of Hello Kitty.

Edit: I spoke too soon! Here is a colouring book for stress relief.

Underrated: repairing.

I feel immensely proud of myself when I fix something. If I screw a cupboard door handle back on, or glue something, or sew a button or patch something I've torn, it makes me feel all competent and skilled. I could totally survive if I was thrown back in time. Also, it is frugal to extend the life of something that just needs a little fixing. And in a way, when I fix something I make it more my own. My dress might have been mass-made in China, but only MY dress has a mend on one sleeve. I suggest 'making do' as an alternative to retail therapy.

Far out brussels sprouts!

Growing up in Australia, there was a sense that brussels sprouts were a generally disliked vegetable amongst kids. I, however, had a very Asian upbringing when it came to food. I don't think brussels sprouts ever made it into our home. Hence, they became very exotic to me (and quite honestly, I'm not sure I even knew what they looked like for the first twenty-odd years of my life). I may have eaten them once at a restaurant, and that's about the extent of it.

In my quest to be adventurous with vegetables, I decided to pick up a bag of brussels sprouts at the greengrocer since they were so cheap ($1.20 for a bag, 99c at ALDI). I wasn't sure how to cook or eat them, so I peeled the outer layers, chopped the bottom off, quartered them and steamed them on high with some water in the microwave for two minutes.

They are actually quite lovely, like mini cabbages. I wonder if you could make kimchi with it?

I'm thankful I didn't grow up disliking brussels sprouts because they are a very cheap green vegie when they are on special. $1 peoples!! Cheap cheap source of green!

Underrated accent.

Oh yes, Scotch is quaint, Kiwi is quirky, but my favourite accent is Northern English. Like Scotch it works well with olde worlde words like 'yon' and 'thou'. It can sound very manly, for some reason, which gives Mr Thornton the edge over Mr Darcy. And some things sound much funnier, like in Chicken Run: "Ah doon't want to be in a paah, Ah doon't lahke greyveh;" ("I don't want to be in a pie, I don't like gravy") or in Cranford: "Ah doon lahke tooching ooders!" (I don't like touching udders")

August.

It's the time of year when you're tired; it's been cold for so long, dark for so long, the same for so long; nothing has turned out as wonderfully as you anticipated back in those early summer months, and there is not yet any end in sight to spur you on. Life is "flat, stale and unprofitable", to quote Anne. I don't want to become gloomy and disillusioned about everything, but right now it seems inevitable.

I'm reminded to hope.

How to vote, Engagers!

I shall be voting early this year, which is a little sad for me because voting is like giving blood; not nice, but good to know that you are making a contribution to your society. So I actually like the atmosphere of the voting queue; we're all in it together at this moment, and we'll never see each other again. But voting early is necessary this year because it's on the Engage 1 weekend, very inconveniently.

On the other hand, what better place to "fellow"ship and "meet" people than in the absentee voting queue at Katoomba High? Jump into the queue alongside a likely looking stranger wearing an engage wristband and no wedding ring and you have them captive to the electoral law.

Hey Elsie!

Mondays to Wednesdays are usually the most intense part of my week. This week has been even more so as I have had two assessments, I'm tired and I haven't been sleeping well. I predicted last night that I would experience post-adrenaline depression today.

I woke up this morning and had a very good start to the day. Early in the afternoon, I hit this low and I couldn't work out why. I decided to buy myself a little A7 art diary, brand new Crayola Twistables Coloured Pencils and a Uniball Signo 0.7 gel pen. I would use these to doodle, daydream and record little things about life that I'm learning.



There's a child-like delightfulness to doodling and recording thoughts in a tiny note book. I think it will be my new happy hobby.

As I walked home from the shops, I remembered yesterday's prediction *slaps forehead* Of course I'm feeling low! I've been running on adrenaline. I think I will leave a post-it note somewhere for myself next time...

Media and Politics.

It's a symbiotic relationship. Someone a bit older than me once pointed out that even when there is no election around, never a day goes by without the PM making news; and they could remember back to when you would go for weeks without hearing about the PM. That sounds like heaven! Certainly, in 2010 by the time the election campaigns starts pumping we are already fed-up and over-informed. I've stopped watching the news on TV and I still can't avoid it all.

It strikes me, though, that the Greens are quite low-profile in the news, only weigh in with a comment or policy point when it benefits them, and do not receive the same kind of celebrity hounding about annoying accents or budgie-smugglers*. Nor is there anywhere near as much critique of their policies. They are a minor party, sure, but growing in influence, so I'm waiting for the day when they get dragged into the 24hour news cycle, because I think some of the shine might wear off, and we will be completely sick of them, too. Or, here's a thought, the other parties could learn from their "less is more" approach and we would all benefit.

* I HATE THAT PHRASE: IT'S NOT AMUSING ANY MORE.

Uncool

Making out at uni is uncool peoples. UNCOOL. Fine, hold hands, kiss, hug, whatever, but I draw the line at getting horizontal (even if fully clothed) in a public place. Show some decency, propriety and consideration for other people. My gag reflex can only handle so much.

While I'm at it, why do people leave rubbish lying around and make a mess of public spaces? How hard is it to clean up after yourself, put rubbish in the bin and leave things clean and tidy?

A bold statement

Here at jelssie, we're known for our bold, out-there statements. I'm going to make another one. Are you ready for it?

I like studying accounting.

There. I've said it.

I like it so far. Assessments and exams are never pleasant, but aside from those, I am enjoying learning and studying. I hope that translates to me enjoying working as an accountant one day.

Two

There are two types of people in the student world: those who remember their courses by course codes and those who remember their courses by course name/title. I am the latter.

Learning to sneeze differently.

I inherited from my father a big shouty sneeze. Deafening. I'm also a multiple sneezer. And I sneeze often. So I recently decided to try and change my sneeze to a softer one, not a suppressed sneeze but one with less shout. More ladylike. It doesn't always work, but usually I get at least a series of sneezes decreasing in volume. Interestingly, I have to sneeze more times when I do softer sneezes.

Eat Street 15: Dumpling and Noodle House.

6.30pm, Friday 13th August. Bring a bib.

Character of cooking.

There are two sorts of people. You either start with the recipe, or start with the pantry. If you are a religious recipe follower then throwing random ingredients together with a few sauces and spices is way out of your comfort zone. You stick to the recipe. Donna knows best. And if you are at the other end of the spectrum, a 'master scavenger-chef', then cooking from a recipe is a little bit daunting.

I am the latter. I am very confident that I can eat whatever I cook from the random contents of my freezer and pantry, but when I have to cook for other people I feel like the food should be recognisable and have a name. And proper cakes and things really need recipes. So I have to think, plan, shop, and cook following instructions, which is just more stressful for me. At the same time, I feel the call to freedom; I'm not 100% bound to the recipe, and I'll "adapt" it for efficiency.

So the office birthday cake today has wholemeal SR instead of normal SR flour. I could not find coconut milk at coles last night (???) so I decided to use a bit of condensed milk and a bit of soy milk instead. Then I put in less sugar, because condensed milk is obviously very sweet. Then I didn't have a high enough cake tin, so I put a bit less mixture in the tin and cooked the rest in a bowl like a pudding for my own dessert. And then I probably had the oven up a bit high, but that probably turned out OK because Rachel, who cooked this cake for her wedding, said that it takes longer than you think, and I didn't test the cake with the skewer, I just took it out at the right time, so it was a good thing it was hotter.

I felt comfortable making all those variations on the recipe, they all seemed logical at the time, and I'm pretty confident the cake will be edible.

Suggestion for best biscuit.

Put aside your Tim Tam and your Oreo. These famously over-branded biscuits are only OK compared to the shy but DELICIOUS biscuit known as the Caramel Crown. The Crown is a round, gooey caramel topped biscuit, covered in chocolate. I'm not normally crazy about caramel, or chocolate biscuits in general; I find Tim Tams ordinary. But the Caramel Crown biscuit has taken hold of my taste buds. I am forming a biscuit obsession. I suggest you try a packet, next time you have to bring supper.

Jelssie vocab: Sickness.

Put those boring disease words away this winter. Sick, flu and cold have all but lost their meaning. They raise no sympathy anymore. Instead, try these ones out.

Lurgeitis. "The dreaded lurgy" sounds interesting the first time only, then it sounds like a mum joke, so try Lurgitis instead. I haven't decided on spelling yet.

Incapacitated. "This is an incapacitating cough." Sounds extremely severe.

Poorly. "I feel quite poorly." One of my flatmates used to say "I'm poorly" in a special feeble voice, for extra sympathy.

Ill. A simple word, but often overlooked. "I feel ill" is understated but effective.

Attack of the vapours. Not sure what this is, something to do with corsets and smelling salts maybe, but it grabs me. "I'm suffering from an attack of the vapours!" Although… it has a distinctly female euphemistic quality to it. It makes you sound perioidal.

Underrated: Burger Rings.

Burger Rings are circular chips which are delicious. Tangy. Also, I like the colour of them. They are made up of colour and flavour and very little else, which makes them excellent value. You can get a great big bag for about $2.

KESC14 review: Honey Wok.

Seven challengers met last friday, including 2 newbies, although no Elsie. We ordered from the Banquet menu for 6, which is about $57? or something like that, anyway it only worked out to be $9 each and we STUFFED ourselves. The motherly waitress was quite astonished to see that we had finished off our rice and all but 2 of the dishes. Ladies got appetites.

So the food was not super quick, but mostly very delicious. The Salt and Pepper Pork Ribs, Shan Dong Chicken, fatty Pork Hot Pot and Beans in XO were all very good, the Eggplant Hot Pot and Satay Beef stir fry were OK but a bit bland. The soup and oranges were good too. Did I mention we ate a lot?

On the non-banquet menu, prices were good too: $11 dishes and $8 meals.

The waitresses were friendly, although they preferred not to speak English. As long as everyone is clear about the Shan Dong, it's all good.

Decor is cheap and not everything is super clean. However, I liked being seated at a round table. It made conversation* much easier, than when you are seated at a long table. Everybody could see everybody and see all the food. We would have loved a Lazy Susan.

So 4.5 our of 5! It was a hit.

Next KESC is Friday 13th for dumplings!

*Jess K kindly recorded some of the conversational highlights on her own blog.

The slippery sleeve.

Yesterday Jess Jo statused on Facebook about how she wished there was an invention for holding your sleeves down when you put a jumper on. Nothing more annoying than the light layers bunched around your elbows under your coat sleeves.

I have invented that invention!

I haven't made it yet, because I only thought of it while walking to work this morning, but I shall describe it to you. You get some slippery material, satin like a skirt lining or polyester like a parachute tracksuit. Maybe you even have a parachute tracksuit hanging in your wardrobe you could use for this purpose.

You make a tube (or use the arm of your parachute tracksuit), so you have an arm sleeve without a body. Have both ends open. It should slip on your arm without pulling your sleeves up. Cut a hole in one end for your thumb to stick through.

Then, when you are wearing a slippery sleeve on each arm over the top of your skivvy sleeves, put on your jumper. In theory, the slippery sleeves allow the fabric to travel smoothly over your arms without pulling up your sleeves. The thumb holes will keep the slippery sleeves in place.

Finally, pull the slippery sleeves out via the wrists!

Blogged from my icomputer. Ooo-er.

Mac adds tags onto the end of emails sent from its mobile devices. "Sent from my ipad" and "Sent from my iphone". Not, notice, sent from AN iphone. Sent from MY iphone. They use the possessive, or something grammatical, and presume that every iowner is proud to tell everyone that they own an idevice. It just adds to the pretentiousness.

Halfway day post.

Sometimes, you just have to wait for the week to be over. Moods will swing back up, looming events will be past, perceptions will change. You just have to wait.

Oh look! Shan Dong chicken :) and it's better already.

Haircut time again.

I put off going to the hairdresser as long as I can. I dislike going to a hairdresser. I prefer the dentist, and that is saying something because I've had enough dentistry in the past 2 years to put me off it for a lifetime.

Why I don't like getting a haircut.

1. Timing the appointment. Figuring out which upcoming event I would most benefit from having nice fresh hair. Wedding? Weekend away?
2. Choosing a hairdresser. Cheap asian or Tony & Guy? What is the cost/risk benefit?
3. Wearing the cape. I hate the high-necked cape. It is a What Not To Wear sin.
4. Staring at myself in the mirror under unflattering lights with my hair clipped backwards.
5. Chit-chat. Salon chit-chat irks me.

Dentists, on the other hand, have space-age recliner chairs, soft music, no mirrors, and don't feel obliged to chat to you in a chirpy shop-girl voice. It's an exaggerated contrast, but I do have a disproportionate dislike of haircuts.

Conversations (via email) with a 60 year old boy.

[Emails occasionally pass between Sydney and Maitland. Excerpts from a recently received reply.]

Now, I must approach a delicate subject. One of the reasons you were sent to Sydney (and indeed, commissioned by your church I believe) was (not to put too fine a point on it) to find a bloke. Having been trained in all the skills and qualities lionised in Proverbs 31, we (and I speak here in loco avus - in place of your grandfather, (who I understand is quite incapacitated at the moment)) knew there was no-one in Maitland who was worthy of you …

[continued rant at the apparent blindness of young men in Sydney…]

To conclude, dear Jess; you were given the mandate to hunt. It didn't seem likely that you would have to invoke that mandate - it should have been enough just to announce your arrival in town, but it seems that you may need to move to the next phase of attack. Having said this, I quite understand if you are delaying a strike until you get your braces off. But I trust it's only temporary temporising.

[my reply explaining my theories on why I have not been snapped up]

You certainly face a challenge. I always found that belonging to a group (a ghetto of single girls doesn't quite cut it as a group Jess) with a common cause (outreach, social action, musical, knitting (hmm, perhaps not the latter)) was the best way to find a mate. There is commonality of purpose and interest that allows one to have an eye legitimately on two goals. Take a friend, but not two (overwhelming). You seem to be a 'girl's girl' and it is good to have mates, but to a guy that's intimidating. A bit like a shark chasing a school of sardines, he won't know which direction to turn for a meal and just blunders about. Not a real flash analogy, but an interesting picture of the hunt, and a lot of blundering does go on.

Regards,

DB

Gotta love

You gotta love friends who text you,

Did u knw that u pee purple pee and poo purple poo when u eat fresh beetroot?

Suggestions of things to talk about now that Masterchef is finished.

Anything, really. I've been waiting for this moment for ages. I don't care what the new topic is, it's a breath of fresh, handee-ultra free, air.

Flanny purchasing.

I checked out Cotton On and a few other likely shops, but in the end nothing could beat Lowes for value in the flannelette department, so I went back there. The men's shirts were plentiful, and there was a range of colours. There were only 4 women's shirts in 2 colours, and they were in the short dress style, IF a short flannelette shirt dress could be called a style.

Now here is an example of how women are routinely ripped off in the fashion world. The men's shirts were $10 each, the women's long shirts were $13. $3 isn't much, BUT if you look at it another way it is a 30% increase! There was not a 30% improvement in the women's shirt, and despite the extra length they did not use up as much fabric as the men's shirts, which go from M to XXXL.

I had to buy ladies for the size, and chop the length off. Ripoff rant aside, I am very pleased with it. It is warm and snuggly, has a nice strong red and black check, and a big collar. This is definitely an Underrated fashion.

KESC?

It's been too long, really. Even though Elsie can't make it this Friday for an official Eat Street Challenge, I can't live any longer without it. So meet me at the front of the TAB on corner of Borrodale and Anzac Pde, and we can either go on to Honey Wok or revisit something we liked (Golden Tower!).

Steamin' beetroot!

How to steam beetroot:

How not to steam beetroot:



You can't see it clearly in the photo, but there was beetroot juice splattered all over the microwave. Yay.

Don't beat yourself up

One thing I've learnt is not to beat myself up over bad decisions. I need to accept that I've made a bad decision, learn what I need to learn from it and MOVE ON.

Case in point: I need to buy a microeconomics and macroeconomics textbook for class. I can buy them together as a bundle, brand-new for about $145 (the macro one alone costs $112 brand new!).

I took a risk and decided to buy them separately second-hand. I bought the micro one for $65, but could not get the macro one at $60. I'm now looking to buy it second-hand for $75.

So effectively, I've only saved $5. For the time and effort put in to source the second-hand textbook, I should have just bought it brand new as a bundle. Part of me is tempted to kick myself for not buying the brand new bundle to begin with, but what does beating yourself up over it achieve? No good.

The lesson I need to learn is, if I can't make a significant saving buying books second-hand, and if the time and effort put into sourcing them isn't worth the monetary saving, just get the bundle brand new. You're making a saving there anyway. You can't always get the best outcome possible. Sometimes good enough is good enough.

Sometimes it helps to take a step back and look at the whole situation. A friend is lending me a textbook for one of my subjects, so I've saved there! Plus this kind of thing isn't worth worrying about in my current situation. Get just the textbooks and get on with the study.

Now to move on.

Shirts.

I want to buy a shirt with a collar. Not a chinese collar, but pointy flaps which fold over, because they look so nice under a jumper and elongate the neck. Real collars are not easy to find in the shops, though. And I am starting to really search, because both my white shirts (with a chinese collar) are dead. Last night I discovered that the shirt I had worn all yesterday under my cardigan and skivvy had split right up the back. Thank goodness this happened in winter.

There's a bonus tip for you though: when a shirt is getting old and thin, or has stretched out or something, you can still wear it in winter for the collar effect, under vests and jumpers. And when it dies, it is safely hidden.

Actually, what I really want is a flanny. Like wearing a pyjama top, but with cuffs to keep your arms warm. I reckon in the Eastern Suburbs it would be OK, cos I could pretend to be a hipster—the perfect disguise for a westie-born flanny wearer. I think Lowes is the only place that sells them; I shall look for one tomorrow.

Not quite a retirement village

In case you've been living under a rock, these facts exist:

- there are a lot of single people in society AND

- housing affordability is bad in Sydney.

When you're single and of a certain age, you start to want to live alone. But you don't want to be completely isolated. You want the benefits of having a flatmate (someone to come home to, someone to zip you up when you're getting into a dress) and living alone (having the furniture you want, structuring your household the way you want). For a single female living alone, I would want to live somewhere that offered a degree of safety and convenience (especially if car-less).

I've raised this topic with a few people, and what we need is sort of a retirement village for single people. That is, you get your own apartment, or room to live in, but there are some communal areas available for you to get your daily dose of human contact. Kind of like a dormitory, but home-lier and much nicer. Or like a share house, but centrally organised by someone, with a regular cleaner, and a few living rooms for doing things in. That way, you can hide in your room when you need to be alone, but come out and frolick when you crave company.

Perhaps you could even get a car sharing scheme going if there were enough of you.

How to save time when using the microwave.

If you have a keypad operated timer and want to cook for one minute, instead of pressing 1, 0, 0 press 6, 0!

Obviously, 60 seconds is the same as 1 minute, but it requires 1 less button press!

Weekly Schedule on a Magnetic Whiteboard

Has this been done yet?

I'm surprised no-one's made and marketed an A4 (or larger) magnetic whiteboard with a blank weekly schedule with one hour slots from 6am to 11pm printed on it. You could fill in your weekly schedule with whiteboard markers, or make magnets for regular, weekly items that need some flexibility regarding when they are completed. Would make planning for the week very handy.

Why we don't share our struggles

- People don't understand the burden of the sin or struggle you are working through and they are (sometimes unintentionally) dismissive about it. They say things which make you feel worse or that don't help, which in turn, makes you not want to share.

- People don't believe you because they think you've got it all together. Of course you need to have it all together some time - how are you supposed to cope and function in life otherwise?!

- You fear the vulnerability of revealing your weakness.

- Your fear how crazy you will sound, especially to people who don't understand why your struggle is a struggle.

- You fear people will judge you when they see you working through the struggle (e.g. if you struggle with anger in a particular situation, you think they are watching you whenever you are in that situation).

- People are generally not good listeners and are too quick to jump to their own conclusions about what's wrong with you and what you need to do.

Underrated: library books.

I have recently discovered the non-fiction section of the library. Or at least, I have discovered it for the purpose of reading for pleasure, rather than being forced to use it for studies. Non-fiction books are very interesting. You can learn stuff about the Real World, which is an even more complex, interesting and confronting place than the worlds of fiction books. You can find out Actual History, rather than the smooshed up versions you learn from movies. There are books about money, art, religion, food, health, politics—how very useful!

Books are often expensive to buy and take up a lot of space in the house, but libraries are free, and have quite a lot of good books in them. Browsing in a bookshop is fun, but browsing in a library is better because you can take any book you like, for free, and when you are finished you can get rid of it. You get the experience without the price of possession.

Someone a little bit like me.

I think the more obscure your obsessions are, the more delightful it is to find someone who shares it. Like, who cares about Mr Darcy? He's so mainstream. A Mr Darcy obsession is as common as muck. But a Captain Wentworth fan, or a Henry Tilney fan, is a rare and special creature. A little while ago at the Twist music weekend I found a girl who loves weatherzone. We were practically hugging each other and screaming "there's a little windmill when it's windy!" and "you can change the colour!". An obscure obsession is so bonding.

If only first love could last.

That sensation when you discover some music, and want to listen to it over and over again. It is all so fresh and wonderful.

Second love is good, when you start to hear the lyrics, and be able to sing them. But even as you familiarise the song and get deeper into it, you lose the pleasure of the mystery. It's not first love anymore, and never will be again with that music.

At the moment, I melt with delight when I listen to songs like Pacific Street and Carry Me Home by Hem (stumbled upon Hem in the itunes store). But my obsessive relistening is gradually killing the wonder. Why can't I hold on to that first experience of the discovery of beauty…

Letter to James Valentine.

Dear James,

I am an adoring fan of your radio show. My working day is dark without you. The afternoons are so loooong. Instead of lunch, then 2 hours of James and 2 hours of something, it is lunch then 4 hours of something, which gets boring for my ears. Even 'Nothing' with you is better than something without you.

The situation is now critical. I had 2 weeks holiday out of Sydney. When I returned, the thing I looked forward to most was you. And you were off the air. For 2 weeks. If only you had been away when I was away, I wouldn't have minded so much, knowing that I wasn't missing anything. But what cruel happenstance of fate deprived me of afternoon radio for an entire month?!

Nobody understands.

Yours on afternoons,

Jessica.

Underrated: tourist culture.

Touristy things in Sydney are actually quite fun for a day out, even if you live here. People travel here from all over the world to do things that we ignore. The Aquarium is absolutely wonderful, as is the Art Gallery; Luna Park is a good half day of Pirate Ship rides. Or just see the city itself: ferry rides across to Manly, a walk over the bridge, or a stroll past the Opera House and through the Botanic Gardens. On the weekend, the city has a completely different vibe, so if you hate it for it's traffic and intensity, spend some time doing fun things and exploring the place.

Letters from the Wayside Chapel.

I've been meaning to mention this for ages. Every Monday at 1.35pm, ABC 702 play an audio letter from Graham Long at Wayside Chapel. You can listen to the most recent online here; it is always five minutes well spent, especially compared to other Kings Cross related media productions (I'm scowling at you, channel 9).

Underrated: entertainments.

1. Going to the movies by yourself. Organising a group turns it into a hassle, sometimes. If you want to go see (A Lame Vampire Movie), just go on your own one cheap Tuesday or random Saturday. Added bonus, you can enjoy guilty pleasure movies in secret.

2. Local theatre. In particular, local musical theatre societies. For the price of 1 ticket to a big spectacular show like Wicked, you can see four local shows. The production values are obviously less, but that is an enormous part of the charm! Next in my diary is Disney's Beauty and the Beast at Rockdale in September.

3. A cheap surprise. Spend little or no money on something not normally up your ally. I can highly recommend The Beatnix, for example. Rob Smith is playing with them this weekend, at Bankstown I think. Or be in a TV show audience (like one of the dancing shows or quiz shows).

Observations of a six-year-old boy

I've spent some time babysitting this week. I don't usually spend very much time with kids, so I've been reminded what funny and interesting creatures young boys are. Firstly they have so much energy and imagination! He'll happily play with his Lego by himself for hours on end, making battleship noises, or have imaginary battles with one of his many light sabers, waving it around the living room. When we took a walk, he imagined so many things happening around him. His world is full of play (and of course they say very cute things).

It did make me wonder.

What happens when we grow up? Do we lose our imagination and creativity? Does it get stifled? Do we still play? What does playing or having fun look like for adults? How does playing/having fun change as we mature into adults? Could we play all day the way kids play all day?

Conversations with a six-year-old boy

One
Boy: Are you too young?

Me: Too young for what?

Boy: Too young to get married?

Me: How old do you have to be to get married?

Boy: 30?

Me: How old do you think I am?

Boy: 26?

Me: I know some people who get married at 20, 21. How old will you be when you get married?

Boy: I'll be 21 when I get married!

Me: How will you know who to marry?

Boy: God will give you someone to marry.

Me: But how?

Boy: You just bump into them!

Two
Boy: Why don't you have a car?

Me: Because cars are expensive.

Boy: You could get a cheap car.

Me: (chuckles) Cars are troublesome. You have to fill them with petrol, check the tyre pressure, get them serviced, clean them regularly-

Boy: You could get a servant to clean it for you!

Me: Where would I get a servant from?!

Boy: My mum! She's really good at cleaning cars!

Me: So I should ask your mum to clean my car for me?

Boy: Yes!

Three
Boy: Why don't you have a husband?

Me: Can you find one for me?

Boy: (to mum) Mum! Where did you meet dad?

How to fall ill

I'm experiencing my second sore throat in the space of a month (*dislike*) and I'm starting to notice a pattern. It goes a little like this:

1. Feel majorly stressed out/overwhelmed about something -> 2. Start to have sleeping problems from the stress -> 3. Feel tired from lack of sleep -> 4. Ditch the regular exercise to catch up on sleep -> 5. Eat junk food/unhealthily to cope with stress or you just don't put in the effort because of stress -> 6. Sore throat -> 7. Whammo! Sick as a dog.

If I've learnt anything, it's that all those little factors of good stress management techniques, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and eating well that keep you healthy and feeling strong. It doesn't make you immune from illness, but it does keep you healthy most of the time. And for me, I know that regular, daily exercise helps me to sleep better. So it's all a nasty cycle when you get caught in ditching the exercise to sleep, and then you don't exercise because you're tired.

Last month, when I got my first sore throat, I denied I was falling ill and pushed on, and it was not a pretty sight. This time, I'm going to admit I'm sick and rest, rest, rest.

Attention toothbrush engineers!

...or whatever you're called. Listen: you can stop now. The over-designed and impressively marketed oral equipment you keep coming up with is getting ridiculous. You should have stopped when you branched out into ergonomic handles and everyone discovered that their toothbrushes no longer fit into their toothbrush holder slots. All we want is a stick with bristles on one end.

How busy to be.

I try to be unbusy. I actually think I can't cope with having my time full. I don't like the effects of stress, which some people seem to thrive on—some people are just high energy people.

Even when I enjoy all the things I do, I know there is a level of activity I can't sustain. And, here is the crucial point: I try and do less than I can sustain, because if I do as much as I can sustain and then something extra comes along I realise I am suddenly overburdened, and collapse (or do Eleven Days Of No*). I need down time. So I try and be a bit unbusy, so that when things come along extra I am still within my limit of sustainable business.

Also, what seems sustainable at first becomes tiring over time. You take on lots of exciting things at the start of the year, carrying it all comfortably, and then you get tired—like at the supermarket—your basket accumulates things, and is OK to carry, but your arm is tired by the time you get to the checkout, let alone carry it home.

So in the cause of well-being and efficiency, don't be too busy.

* When I was so tired and frazzled that the idea of another fun social event with friends made me cry in dread, I blocked out my diary for 11 days and became a recluse. I think that's a good technique for introverts. It really worked.

Underrated.

For the sake of appreciating small things, this is a new series of posts about stuff which is quietly cool. First of all: the park.

I don't have a backyard, and my unit is not very windowy or sunny, so I have adopted the park near Randwick Pressy as my own, and it is my default choice on a sunny weekend when I just have to get out of the house.

Everyone loves the beach. The beach is nice, sure, but it's always sandy, grotty and filled with fitness freaks and exhibitionists, especially in summer. Parks are often very lovely and not as trendy as the beaches. They are more relaxed, with more personal space, and unless you are doing a lap around Centennial Park there is much less physical activity to make you vicariously tired. People are fully clothed, which I think is a bonus. And, trees are really nice. Lean against them to read a book, or lie on your back and look up through the leaves. Grass is nice, too. Grass is almost a topic in itself.

Enjoy parks wherever you can!

Health warning for single men.

Interesting fact which sparked me posting about this: Men who are married live longer on average than bachelors. There are added benefits if they marry women younger than them. This is because men who marry are looked after by their wives, we can suppose.

This is golden proof for my long-held theory that singleness is as bad for men than for women, or at least quite bad in different and unnoticed ways. The following observations are general* and based on my limited experience, and I'm not talking about young single men who haven't married so much as maturing men who seem to be aimlessly or unwillingly single, so don't go applying it all to your own situation. But I think there is a grain of truth here, among my random opinions.

1) Single women are high-profile; not, like, whinging, but everyone knows that they are single and it is unfortunate… biological clocks, real grief at missing out on raising a family, etc etc. There is nothing obviously unfortunate about single men—it can seem to be simply their own choice, mistake or failure. So women are getting all the pity and attention.

2) Single men do not seem as interested in singleness as an issue. Where women go "why, God? I want to be married!" and read books about singleness, listen to sermons, spend time questioning God's purpose for their life outside of marriage, blog and vent about it, and for fun watch chick movies about finding marriage, men don't. They are missing the bad things but also potentially the helpful and guiding things, and missing the pastoral care that single women seek out.

3) Single men are more likely to end up loners. Women are more naturally social, and get together to empathise and support each other. Unmarried men miss out on the socialising influence of their wife and family. Single women are more likely to flat together, men are more likely to flat alone—possibly for financial reasons, but it's another element of aloneness.

Single men are more likely to get weird. I'm not sure if all weird older loner men are single because they are weird, or if singleness is actually a major contributing factor to weirdness. Or if it comes down to the socialising factor of the wife/family. Either way, the value of having a wife to choose a shirt for you or nag you to get a haircut is enormous.

4) Men who stay single because it is more fun than marriage, who think they have the social skills to stay cool and want to enjoy their freedom to travel or be a slob or a workaholic or whatever… end up lame. It backfires on them. You can be single and cool and free when you're 28, but 5 years later you'll be single and sort of lame and immature, and in another 5 years you WILL be in the weird loner category and no woman will want you, because you were trying to extend your youth—while she was crying out "why God?" and growing in godliness (hopefully).

5) Unfortunately, according to Phillip Jensen at least, it seems that after 30 or so single men lose confidence to ask women out. Perhaps the rejection of a few women solidifies into self-doubt. Although much worse in my opinion are the desperate and not-shy men who hang around only the pretty single women in church. That is not the way to go! As mentioned before, women notice everything, and you will alert the Creepy Stalker Radar of every woman very quickly.

So if there is anything helpful I want to say about this, it is that older single men are probably more unsupported by church community than single women, and should fight the pull of loner land. And young single men should take warning and not leave it too late—get married before you get weird. Just kidding. They should prayerfully consider their reasons for singleness and the implications for ministry and their future.

* Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct. Jane Austen.

Things I learned on my vacation.

1. I need more vacations.
2. I don't need the internet.
3. Music sounds completely different in different environments. Drive out of Sydney and listen for yourself.
4. Merriwa is a great place to take a rest stop. It has more public toilets than it has public, plus you can buy home-made preserves and knitted things.
5. Pianos should have a view, not face a wall.
6. I now know how to find celestial south.
7. Star-gazing in Coonabarabran is not ideally done in winter.
8. I want a north-facing room with views of a lake and hills, say at Orient Point.
9. Trail mix has an infinite number of uses in (Sam's) cooking.
10. If you spend 2 weeks wearing track pants and eating well, expect consequences when you put your jeans on.
11. You can fit five people and their luggage into Denise's smallish car.
12. Dan Wilton can sing every song from Sister Act 2.